The finding of the pendants
by TheDragoness1992
Summary: This is the story of how each of the seven found the key to the janitor's closet, and to the wonders beyond.
1. Atlanta

Atlanta:

The forest was quiet. The leaves rustling in the soft breeze, the midday sun shining brightly. Suddenly, out of nowhere, a small figure raced through the forest, so fast that she was just a blur. Her fire-red hair streaked behind her, her legs pumping her body onward, the ten-year old Atlanta Griffin raced on, searching for a prey. This was her first hunt without either her father or older brothers. Slung on her back was her hand-made oak bow, as well as a leather quiver full of arrows, each of the deadly tips tipped with metal.

Atlanta raced on, not making a sound as she did so. She had been following the deer tracks for a while now, and her 'hunter's 'sense, as she called it, told her that it was near. Suddenly, the tracks stopped. Slowing down quickly, she examined the tracks. There was just no explanation for it; they had just vanished, disappeared!

Kneeling down on the hard, leaf strewn earth, she took some dirt between her fingers and rubbed it, trying to figure what could be going on.

The hairs at the back of her neck suddenly stood on end.

She wasn't alone.

Quickly, she slung her bow, drew an arrow, and turned, all in one fluid movement. But there was nothing behind her.

Letting out a small sigh of relief, she relaxed her grip on the weapon.

_Cric_

The sound of a branch being stepped on, and broken. Aiming her bow, she shot at where the sound had come from. It hit a great trunk, but...no; it's not possible, is it?

About four feet in front of the trunk that the arrow had hit, there was a silhouette of a woman. She had a tunic on, and her hair was pulled back, a bit like Atlanta's own hair.

The woman nodded, almost as in appreciation of Atlanta's aim. "Very good" she said. "You need to work a bit on your archer's stance, but other than that, you're technique could rival mine."

Stringing her bow again, Atlanta cautiously said: "you are you, and what do you want with me?"

The woman just smiled." The goddess of the hunt... but you can call me Artemis"

Artemis... why did that name ring a bell? Something about Greek gods and such...

Then, the woman disappeared, just like the deer tracks. Approaching cautiously, bow still drawn, and senses on high alert, Atlanta tried to see if she could find any clues, tracks, anything!.

There weren't.

Just as she was about to leave, something caught her attention. Something gold and shiny, hanging from a low branch.

It was a pendant of some sorts, with intricate designs all over, and with a large letter "A" in the center.

Taking it in her hands, she examined it. Somehow, she knew that she would need this pendant. Maybe not soon, but she just knew. Putting it around her neck, she than grabbed her things, and raced back home. She would have a good hunter's story to tell to her brothers when she got there!


	2. Jay

Sunlight filtered through the dirty window, lighting up a much cluttered attic. Boxes lined up and cluttered most of the space, and yellowed newspapers littered one of the corners.

In that same cluttered, dusty attic, a five year old boy named Jay Williams was searching for Greek temples and monsters.

Equipped with a pot on his head as a helmet, a stick as a sword and a dustbin as a shield, Jay and his sidekick, more formerly known as "mommy", where searching for treasure. As his mother was sorting all the newspapers and magazines, Jay was going through old boxes.

Surprisingly, the attic was very large, and was like a giant maze, with twists and turns around every corner.

As Jay was going through some old clothes, a movement out of the corner of his eye drew his attention. Stick and dustbin drawn, he cautiously approached the spot where he had seen movement.

A box behind him suddenly fell. Trying to see through the cloud of dust, Jay thought that he could just see the silhouette of a woman.

"Mommy?" he cried out tentatively. The silhouette laughed. Not an evil, deep and cruel laugh, but a comforting laugh, almost like a chuckle, the kind that a grandmother gives when her grandchild gives her dandelions for her birthday.

"No, child" it said." You know who I am, in a way" Jay cocked his head curiously, causing his naturally blond bangs to swing a bit. "What do you mean?" He asked. If he could have seen through the dust, Jay would have seen that the silhouette was smiling.

"I am Hera." She said.

Jay's jaw dropped. "You mean, Hera as in the queen of the gods?"

Hera nodded.

"I cannot speak with you any longer for now...goodbye Jay... but we will meet again soon enough."

At that, she disappeared, leaving a flabbergasted Jay. Advancing cautiously, his foot knocked against something. Bending over to pick the object up, he discovered a very dusty medallion.

Rubbing the glued-on and sticky dust, he uncovered the golden sheen underneath.

It was a perfectly round medallion, with a large "J" in its center, surrounded by intricate designs, and with a long golden chain attached to it.

Looping the chain around his neck, the little five year old ran to his mother to show her his find, his encounter with the queen of the gods already forgotten.

And to this day, he has never taken that pendant off, unless he really had to.


	3. Archie

The waves of the ocean crashed on the shore. People of all ages where in the water, swimming and splashing around.

On the beach, a little boy of ten was sitting on the sand, watching all the others swim. Archie Cooper had had an irrational fear of water ever since he had been born.

Squinting because of the sun, an odd sight attracted his attention; a man in full armour, his bald head reflecting the sun. Even more strangely, the man seemed to be looking straight at Archie.

Sighing, Archie stood up and went a little further off, away from the evil water. Sitting down, he began to build a sand castle, since his parent's had taken away his little notebook, where he wrote his poems, saying that he needed to do more in life than just being a closet poet.

Something then blocked out the sun, casting a long shadow in front of Archie. Turning around, he saw that it was the same man that had been watching him earlier.

Now that the man was closer, Archie could get a better look at him.

He had a large bushy moustache, and contrary to what Archie had presumed earlier, was not bald, though the top of his head held no hair.

"Sit up straight, boy!" the man commanded. Archie did as he was told. He might be stubborn, but he knew when to listen to the higher authority...and this was one of those times.

The man looked at Archie up and down.

"Hmm, you might be skinny, but you'll make a fine warrior." He growled. The man then seemed to notice the sand castle that Archie had been previously building. A smile crept on his features.

"I see that you are re-enacting the battle of Troy...hmm, very good work, for one so young..."

Through all this time, Archie had stayed silent, but now, he couldn't help asking a question.

"Um, sir?" he began tentatively. "I don't mean to be rude, but, well, who the hell are you?"

At this, the man laughed.

This was the last straw for Archie, because then he blurted out: "What's so funny?"

Regaining his composure, the man answered Archie's questions.

"You can call me Ares. And as for the second question, I was laughing because you reminded me of someone I knew a long, long time ago, named Achilles. He is your ancestor."

Now it was Archie's turn to laugh. This guy must be crazy! First he says that he is Ares, god of war, and then he says that he reminds him of Achilles, and _then_, he says that he, Archie, is descended from him, the greatest warrior ever!

"Okaaaaaaay mister Crazy, the asylum is the other way." Archie said before returning to his sand castle. Regaining his composure once more, Ares' eyes narrowed.

"You won't find me so crazy in a few years..." He said before turning around and...Disappearing?

Shaking his head to get rid of the memories of his latest encounter with a crazy person, Archie continued digging for wet sand.

As he dug, his fingers scraped something hard. Curious to know what it was, Archie tried to pry his fingers around the object. To his surprise, he pulled out a gold pendant, a large 'A' engraved on its center and intricate designs all over. A long, thin golden chain seemed to serve as a necklace of some sorts. Looping it around his neck, Archie decided to keep it. Who knows, it might come in useful one day...


End file.
